Remote monitoring

ABSTRACT

Remote monitoring and inspection of measurement devices, emergency equipment, parking spaces, and other items is accomplished by using an image sensor (e.g., a CMOS sensor) to capture an image containing information about the monitored item. A signal containing information about the image (e.g., data representing the captured image or data indicating the state of the captured image) is transmitted to a remote central station.

RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/451,819 filed Apr. 20, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/196,371 filed Aug. 2, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,248,216 issued Aug. 21, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/716,366 filed Mar. 3, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No.8,009,020 issued Aug. 30, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/071,132 filed Mar. 2, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No.7,728,715 issued Jun. 1, 2010, each of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to remote monitoring of measurement devices,emergency equipment, and other items.

BACKGROUND

Equipment, such as emergency equipment, fuel tanks, pipelines, etc.,often includes one or more digital or analog measurement devices (e.g.,liquid level indicators, pressure gauges, thermometers, flow meters,etc.) that provide important data about the equipment. It is also oftenimportant to ensure that equipment, such as fire extinguishers and otheremergency equipment, are in its installed located and access to theequipment is not blocked. When a number of pieces of equipment aredistributed across a large area or are located in an inaccessible areas,it becomes difficult to effectively monitor the status of the equipment.

SUMMARY

In general, in one aspect, an apparatus for detection of presence of anobstruction blocking access to or viewing of emergency equipmentincludes: an image sensor positioned to face an access area to theemergency equipment and configured to capture an image of the accessarea; an image recognition module configured to recognize at leastwhether the access area is obstructed and generate a first signalindicative of an obstructed state when the access area is recognized asobstructed; and communications circuitry configured to transmit to aremote central station a second signal including information indicativeof the obstructed state of the emergency equipment provided by thecaptured image.

Embodiments may include one or more of the following features. The imagesensor is configured to periodically capture an image of the accessarea. The access area includes an exit way. The image sensor isconfigured to capture an image of the access area in response to achange in a state of the emergency equipment. The change in a state ofthe emergency equipment comprises a removal of the emergency equipmentfrom an installed position. The access area comprises a fire alarm pullstation. Change in a state of the emergency equipment comprises anactivation of the fire alarm pull station. The access area furthercomprises a portable defibrillator. The apparatus also includes anetwork linking the communication circuitry and the remote centralstation. The network comprises a wireless mesh network. The image sensorincludes a CMOS sensor. The apparatus also includes a second imagesensor positioned to face a display of the emergency equipment andconfigured to capture a second image of the display of the emergencyequipment, wherein the communications circuitry is further configured totransmit to a remote central station a third signal includinginformation about the display. The image recognition module isconfigured to recognize one of a plurality of predetermined states ofthe emergency equipment from the second image. The image recognitionmodule is configured to recognized one of the plurality of predeterminedstates prior to transmission of the third signal to the remote centralstation. The emergency equipment includes a pressurized tank, and thedisplay includes a pressure gauge on pressurized tank. The second imagesensor is configured to periodically capture an image of the display.The apparatus also includes a second image sensor positioned to face aninstalled location of the emergency equipment and configured to capturea second image of the installed location, wherein the communicationscircuitry is further configured to transmit to the remote centralstation a third signal including information about the second image. Thecommunication circuitry is configured to transmit a wireless signal tothe remote central station. The network comprises a wireless meshnetwork. The network comprises an IEEE .1.-compliant network.

Other embodiments involve the foregoing features embodied as otherapparatuses, methods, systems, software, hardware, or other computerproducts.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1C are diagrams of a digital image sensory device mounted on apressure gauge of a fire extinguisher.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a digital image sensory device in communicationwith a remote central station using a network.

FIGS. 3 and 5 are flow charts illustrating operation of digital imagesensory devices.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrated operation of a remote centralstation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of multiple digital image sensory devices incommunication with a central station using a mesh network.

FIGS. 7-9 and 11-12 are diagrams of digital image sensory devicesconfigured to monitor various emergency equipment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a digital image sensory device configured tomonitor parking spaces in a parking facility.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is often desirable to remotely monitor digital or analog measurementdevices, such as pressure gauges, liquid level indicators, thermometers,voltmeters, flow meters, etc., to ensure proper operation or check thestatus of important equipment (e.g., a fire extinguisher, portableoxygen tank, pipeline, battery, etc.), or measure usage of a consumablematerial (e.g., electric, gas, or water meter, liquid level indicatorfor a home heating oil or liquid propane tank, etc.). Often equipmentwill include a measurement device that can be viewed on site (e.g., aconventional pressure gauge on a fire extinguisher), but is incapable oftransmitting a signal indicating the condition of the measurement deviceto a remote monitoring device. One way to remote monitoring of such ameasurement device is to mount a digital image sensory device, such as aCMOS sensor, and communications circuitry on or near the measurementdevice. The digital image sensory device can be configured to capture animage of the measurement device at a desired frequency (e.g., every 1second, 1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day, etc.) and can transmit the capturedimage to a remote monitoring station, either via wired or wirelesstransmission. Alternatively, the digital image sensor can include amicroprocessor programmed to recognize predetermined conditions of ameasurement device and transmit a signal indicating the presence ofrecognized predetermined conditions to a central station. Similarly, adigital image sensor can be configured to recognize the characters ornumbers on the measurement device (e.g., a measurement device having adigital readout), decode them, and transmit a signal containing thedecoded values.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, a fire extinguisher 10 includes a CMOSsensory device 12 attached to a pressure gauge 14, which monitorspressure of fire suppressant stored within the extinguisher's tank 16.The CMOS sensory device is attached in such a way that the CMOS camera(not shown) has a clear view to the display of the pressure gauge, butdoes not obstruct a person's view of the pressure gauge.

Referring to FIGS. 1B-1C, the CMOS sensory device 12 is releasablyattached to the pressure gauge with a pair of suction cups 13 a, 13 b.In other implementations, the CMOS sensory device may be integral withthe pressure gauge or attached to the pressure gauge with straps, clips,adhesive, screws, bolts, or other known releasable or non-releasableattachment devices.

The CMOS sensory device includes a CMOS camera 18 that is positioned toview a portion of the pressure gauge display that shows whether theindicator needle 19 is within a predetermined pressure range (shadedregion R).

Referring to FIG. 2, the CMOS sensory device 12 includes a CMOS camera18, microprocessor 21, communications circuitry and antenna 22, andbattery 23 all mounted to a circuit board 24. The CMOS camera 18 ispositioned to capture images of area A on the pressure gauge, whichdisplays whether the indicator needle 19 is within the desired pressurerange (e.g., shaded region R) or outside the desired pressure range.Battery 23 supplies power to the CMOS camera and other components oncircuit board 24. Communications circuitry 22 provides two-waycommunication between the CMOS sensory device 12 and a remote centralstation 25 using a network 26 (e.g., a wireless IEEE 802.15.4-compliantor IEEE 802.11-compliant wireless network, Ethernet network, etc.).Microprocessor 21 controls operation of the CMOS sensory device bytriggering the CMOS camera to periodically capture a digital image ofarea A on the pressure gauge. In some implementations, microprocessor 21can be configured to “recognize” a state of the digital image andtransmit a signal to the remote central station indicating therecognized state. In the illustrated example, the fire extinguisher'spressure gauge has at least two important states: (i) a normal statewhen the pressure gauge indicates a pressure within the operating limitsand a (ii) an out-of-range state when the pressure gauge indicates apressure outside the operating limits. Other implementations mayrecognize other states, such as a normal state, an above-normal stateand a below-normal state. In some implementations, a digital imagesensory device is configured to recognize alphanumeric charactersdisplayed by a measurement device. For example, if a measurement devicehas a digital readout, a digital image sensory device may executeoptical character recognition (OCR) software to recognize thealpha-numeric characters captured in the digital image.

The components of CMOS sensory device 12 shown in FIG. 2 are logicalcomponents, and, in actual implementations, one logical component may beimplemented in separate physical component. Similarly, the functionalityof multiple logical components may be combined and implemented as asingle physical component. For example, a digital image sensory devicemay be actually implemented with multiple processors, e.g., oneprocessor dedicated for the operation of the digital image sensor and asecond processor dedicated to recognizing states and/or alpha-numericcharacters captured in a digital image. Similarly, the functionality ofcommunication circuitry and a microprocessor may be combined into asingle physical component.

Referring to FIG. 3, a digital image sensory device, such as CMOSsensory device 12 shown in FIGS. 1-2, receives as input a time intervalT (50) between image captures. In some implementations, the timeinterval may be preprogrammed and not variable by a user, while in otherimplementations the time interval may be programmed by a user using, forexample, a program code contained in a separate microprocessor or on amicroprocessor associated with wireless transmission circuitry.

Operation begins by starting (52) a timer and waiting until the timerreaches time T. When the timer reaches time T, the CMOS sensory deviceuses a CMOS camera to capture (54) an image of the measurement device.In addition, the timer is reset (56) and re-started (52) for the nextimage capture.

After the CMOS camera has captured an image of the measurement device,the CMOS sensory device analyzes (56) the captured image to determine(58) a state of the measurement device. In this example, the CMOSsensory devices analyzes the captured image to determine which of twostates the image presents: (i) a “normal” state in which the image showsthe measurement device to be within a predetermined pressure range, or(ii) an “out-of-range” state in which the image shown the measurementdevice to be outside a predetermined pressure range. The CMOS sensorydevice can use any known image recognition software, such as opticalcharacter recognition (OCR) or machine vision software, for determiningthe state of the measurement device shown in the image. If the CMOSsensory device cannot determine with a sufficient level of confidence(e.g., 90%) the state of the measurement device shown in the image, theCMOS sensory device reverts to an “error” state. In someimplementations, a digital image sensory device may be programmed tocapture and attempt to recognize another digital image, or, alternative,transmit the unrecognizable image back to the remote central station, ifthe digital image sensory device reverts to an error state.

If the CMOS sensory device determines from the digital image that themeasurement device is within the predetermined pressure range (i.e., inthe normal state), it transmits (60) a signal to a remote centralstation indicating that the measurement device is within thepredetermined pressure range along with a time stamp of when the digitalimage was captured and an identification code associated with the CMOSsensory device. If the CMOS sensory device determines from the digitalimage that the measurement device is out of the predetermined pressurerange (i.e., in the out-of-range state), then it transmits (62) a signalto the remote central station indicating that the measurement device isout of the predetermined pressure range, along with a time stamp of whenthe digital image was captured and the CMOS sensory device'sidentification code. Similarly, if the CMOS sensory device cannotdetermine from the digital image whether the measurement device iswithin or out of the predetermined pressure range (i.e., in the errorstate), transmits (64) a signal to the remote central station indicatingan error, along with a time stamp of when the digital image was capturedand the CMOS sensory device's identification code.

When a signal is received at the remote central station, the centralstation decodes and stores the transmitted information and automaticallynotifies appropriate personnel (e.g., fire department, policedepartment, building management department, etc.) of abnormalconditions. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a remote central stationreceives (68) a signal from one of several CMOS sensory devicesdistributed throughout a room, building, group of buildings, or othergeographic area. The signal preferably includes information about thestate of the monitored measurement device determined from a captureddigital image of the device, the time at which the digital image wascaptured, and a unique identification code of the CMOS sensory device.The remote central station decodes and stores (70) the received sensorydata in a database, data table or similar data structure. The remotecentral station also accesses a registry (74) of CMOS sensory devices,which matches each CMOS sensory device by its unique identificationcode. The remote central station accesses the registry of CMOS sensorydevice to associate (72) the received signal with its correspondingmeasurement device. For example, a CMOS sensory device having unique IDcode “123” may be attached to a pressure gauge on a fire extinguisherlocated on the second floor, room 205 of a particular building. The CMOSregistry includes, for example, a table that associates the unique IDcode “123” with the type (fire extinguisher pressure gauge) and location(second floor, room 205) of the corresponding measurement device.

The remote central station also displays the received data on a displaydevice. In some implementations, the received data is overlaid on agraphical map of the building, floor, campus, etc. that is beingmonitored. To allow a user to more quickly determine the status of anarray of distributed measurement devices monitored by CMOS sensorydevices, the remote central station may display color codes (e.g., redfor a current abnormal reading, green for a current normal reading, andyellow for a current error or warning reading) on the graphical map atthe locations where the measurement devices are located or installed. Insome implementations, the central station employs a glanceable displaydevice, such as an Ambient Orb™ or Ambient Dashboard™ by Ambient Devices(www.ambientdevices.com). A glanceable device is a device, such as alight source, meter, or sound source, which communicates informationwithout demanding a user's attention. For example, status information onmonitored measurement devices could be processed for output to aglanceable display such that monitored devices at a location (e.g., in aroom, on a floor, in a building, etc.) or of a particular type (e.g.,fire extinguisher pressure gauges, portable oxygen tank pressure gauges,etc.) causes a light to glow more green in color as the more devicesshow a normal status and glow more red in color as they show anon-normal status (e.g., abnormal or error). Similarly, sensory dataindicating a normal status of monitored measurement devices may cause aneedle to move towards one end of a scale whereas as monitored devicesshow a abnormal status the needles moves towards an opposite end of thescale. In this way, sensory data collected from many measurement devicescan be analyzed in the aggregate in a simple, easy-to-view format.

It may be desirable for a user at a remote central station to downloadcaptured images for inspection. For example, if a CMOS sensory devicetransmits a signal indicating an out-of-range pressure condition or anerror condition, an operator at the remote central station may want toview the captured image to verify the reading or to see if the humanoperator can read the captured image. Similarly, an operator may want toperiodically test operation of the system by comparing captured imageswith the state indicated by the CMOS sensory device. Accordingly, insome implementations, a CMOS sensory device also includes on-boardmemory for storing one or more captured digital images and is adapted torespond to requests from a remote central station to upload one or moreof the images stored in the memory to the central station. As the CMOSsensory device captures a new image, it overwrites the oldest imagestored in its memory. If a user at a remote central station wants toview one or more of the images stored at the CMOS sensory device, theuser is able to send a command to the CMOS sensory device instructing itto send one or more of the stored images. In some implementations, theCMOS sensory device may also be equipped to receive a command from aremote user instructing the CMOS sensory device to immediately captureand analyze a monitored measurement device. Thus, a remote user is ableto check on the status of a monitored measurement device without havingto wait for the next time at which the CMOS sensory device is programmedto capture a digital image.

In some implementations, the CMOS sensory device does not include anyimage recognition software for determining the state of the measurementdevice as shown in a captured digital image. For example, as shown inFIG. 5, a CMOS sensory device is configured to capture a digital imageof a measurement device every T time interval (90-96), and, thentransmits (98) the captured digital image directly to the remote centralstation along with a time stamp and an identification code associatedwith the CMOS sensory device. Image recognition software may be employedat the remote central station to analyze the incoming images todetermine a state of a measurement device shown in the image.Alternatively, the remote central station may not include any imagerecognition software, but may simply store and/or display capturedimages for review by a user.

Referring to FIG. 6, a wireless mesh network 100, such as a Zigbee™wireless mesh network or other IEEE 802.15.4-compliant wireless meshnetwork, is used to transmit information between a remote centralstation 102 and remote CMOS sensory devices (not shown) mounted toportable oxygen tanks 104, 106 used, for example, at a hospital, nursinghome, or other healthcare facility. The wireless mesh network includesseveral nodes 108-119, which exchange wireless signals between CMOSsensory devices located within the mesh network and a remote centralstation 102. In some implementations, the remote central station mayinclude one or more devices for transmitting sensory data to anotherdevice (e.g., a server computer) located outside the wireless meshnetwork. For example, the remote central station may be equipped with acellular modem, satellite modem, public switched telephone network(PSTN) modem, and/or networking card transmitting data to a remoteserver. The remote central station may also be equipped to receive andexecute commands from a remote device (e.g., a command to have one ormore CMOS sensory devices capture and analyze a digital image of ameasurement device. The remote central station may be implemented, forexample, as a laptop computer, desktop computer, or a single-boardcomputer (e.g., cellular telephone, PDA, etc.).

In some implementations, other types of communication networks than awireless mesh network are used to exchange. For example, aBluetooth-compliant wireless network or other IEEE 802.11-compliantwireless network or a hardwire network, such as an Ethernet network, maybe used to exchange information between CMOS sensory device and a remotecentral station.

In addition to using digital image sensory devices to remotely monitormeasurement devices (e.g., pressure gauges, fuel level indicators,thermometers, flow meters, etc.), digital image sensors can be used todetect presence of important equipment, such as a portable fireextinguisher or portable defibrillator, at a predetermined location. Inaddition, digital image sensors can be used to detect presence of anobstruction blocking access to important equipment, such as a fireextinguisher, emergency exit, fire alarm pull station, defibrillator,etc.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a fire extinguisher 120 is mounted to awall, post, or other support surface, W. A CMOS sensory device 122 ismounted on the wall behind the fire extinguisher 120 with two screws 121a, 121 b. The CMOS sensory device includes a CMOS camera 122 and housescomponents shown in FIG. 2, including a microprocessor, communicationscircuit, and battery mounted to a circuit board. The CMOS camera ispositioned to face the fire extinguisher, and, is configured toperiodically capture a digital image of the fire extinguisher at itsinstalled position. By periodically capturing digital images of the fireextinguisher in its installed position, the CMOS sensory device candetect presence (or lack thereof) of the fire extinguisher at itsinstalled location.

In some implementations, the CMOS sensory device includes opticalrecognition software that recognizes a state of a captured digital image(e.g., installed position state, missing from position state) andtransmits a signal indicating the determined state to a remote centralstation. As described above, the CMOS sensory device in someimplementations also includes on-board memory for storing one or morecaptured digital images and is adapted to respond to requests from aremote central station to upload one or more of the images stored in theon-board memory to the central station. Similarly, in someimplementations, the CMOS sensory device may also be equipped to receivea command from a remote user instructing the CMOS sensory device toimmediately capture and analyze a monitored measurement device.

Rather than transmitting a status of a captured digital image, the CMOSsensory device may be configured to transmit the digital image to theremote central station, where it may be displayed for a human toanalyze, analyzed by image recognition software, or send to anotherlocation (e.g., a network server accessible over a public or privatenetwork) for display or analysis.

As mentioned above, a digital image sensory device may also be used todetect obstructions to viewing of or obstruction to important equipment,such as emergency equipment. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a cabinet132 housing a fire extinguisher 130 includes two CMOS sensors 134, 136.The CMOS camera of CMOS sensor 134 faces the installed position of thefire extinguisher and, therefore, detects when the fire extinguisher isremoved from its installed position. The CMOS camera of CMOS sensor 136faces outward and periodically captures digital images of an access areaimmediately in front of the cabinet to detect when an object is blockingaccess to the cabinet. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 9, an emergency exitdoor includes several CMOS sensors 140 a-140 c with CMOS cameras thatperiodically capture images of areas in front of the door to detectpresence of obstructions 142, 144 to the emergency exit door. AdditionCMOS sensory devices may be placed on the other side of the door 138 todetect presence of obstructions on the opposite side of the door. TheCMOS sensory device may be configured to transmit captured digitalimages to a remote central station via a wireless or hardwired networkor may include image recognition software to determine a state of thecaptured digital image (e.g., no obstruction state, obstructed state,reading error) and transmit a signal indicated the detected state to theremote central station.

CMOS sensory devices can be used presence of any item in a predeterminedposition such as a portable defibrillator, life jackets/preservers,wheeled fire extinguisher, or an automobile in a parking space.Similarly, CMOS sensory devices can be used to detect obstruction to anyitem or object in which viewing and/or physical access is important(e.g., fire alarm pull stations, emergency lighting, defibrillators,emergency stairways and exitways, fire hose reels, fire enunciatorpanels, loading docks, or fire lanes.

As shown in FIG. 10, a system 145 for monitoring status of vehicles 146a-146 f parked in a parking facility includes a several digital imagesensory devices 147 a-147 h that each face a parking space 148 a-148 h.The digital sensory devices are in communication with a remote centralstation 149 over a wireless network (not shown) such as a Zigbee™wireless mesh network. Each digital image sensory device is programmedto periodically (e.g., every 5 seconds) to capture a digital image ofthe parking space, determine the state of the space (e.g., empty oroccupied), and transmit to a central station a signal identifying thedigital image sensory device and the determined state of the space. Atthe central station 149, signals from each of the digital sensorydevices are received and assimilated to determine capacity of theparking facility. In the illustrated example, a worker could view adisplay on the remote central station and direct an entering customer tothe location of one of the two open spaces (i.e., space 148 c and 148 e)in the facility. In some implementations, the digital image sensorydevices may transmit the digital image to the central station where itis analyzed (either by software or by human) to determine the state ofthe parking space.

In some implementations, a digital image sensory device is used tocapture images of the area around a piece of portable equipment when theequipment is moved from its installed position to identify a person whoremoved the equipment, and, deter theft or improper use of theequipment. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a fire alarm pull station150 is mounted to a wall W or other structure. The fire alarm pullstation 150 includes a build-in CMOS sensory device 152, in which a CMOScamera faces an area in front of the pull station. The CMOS sensorydevice is configured to capture one or more digital images and storewhen the fire alarm pull station is activated (i.e., the handle 154 ispulled down). The CMOS sensory device either stores the captured digitalimage for later retrieval or automatically transmits the captured imageto the remote central station. Because the intent of the captureddigital images immediately following activation of the pull station isto determine the identify of the person who pulled the handle, the CMOSsensory device need not apply image recognition software to determine astate of the image. However, in some implementations, the CMOS sensorydevice may periodically capture digital images of the area in front ofthe pull station in order to detect presence of an obstruction. Forthese digital images, the CMOS sensory device may apply imagerecognition software to determine a state of the pull station (e.g.,pull station obstructed, pull station not obstructed, recognitionerror).

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 12, a fire extinguisher 156 is installed ina cabinet 158 mounted within a wall W. A CMOS sensory device 160 isbuilt into a housing 162. The CMOS sensory device includes a CMOS camerapositioned to face an area outside the cabinet at between 4 and 7 feetoff the ground (the approximate height of a person's head). A tether 164is attached between the fire extinguisher 156 and the housing 162 todetect removal of the fire extinguisher from its installed position.U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,484,651, 6,302,218, 6,585,055 and 6,488,099, each ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference, describes examples oftethers used to detect removal of equipment from an installed position.Upon detection of removal of fire extinguisher 156 from its installedposition, the CMOS sensory device 160 is configured to capture one ormore digital images of the area in front of the cabinet. The CMOSsensory device can be configured to store the digital image(s) for laterretrieval and/or automatically transmit captured images to a remotecentral station, where they may be analyzed to determine the identity ofthe person that removed the extinguisher.

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, while a CMOS camera has been illustrated and described as partof the digital image sensor, other digital image capturing devices suchas CCD (Charge Coupled Device), full frame, interline, or linear imagesensor may be used. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scopeof the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for detection of presence of anobstruction blocking access to an emergency exit, the apparatuscomprising: an image sensor positioned to face an access area to theemergency exit and configured to capture an image of the access area; animage recognition module configured to: recognize at least whether theaccess area is obstructed; and generate a first signal indicative of anobstructed state when the access area is recognized as obstructed; andcommunications circuitry configured to transmit to a remote centralstation a second signal including information indicative of theobstructed state of the emergency exit provided by the captured image.2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the image sensor is configured toperiodically capture an image of the access area.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the emergency exit includes an emergency stairway. 4.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the image sensor is configured tocapture an image of the access area in response to a change in a stateof an item of emergency equipment.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 whereinthe change in a state of the item of emergency equipment comprises aremoval of the emergency equipment from an installed position.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 4 wherein the access area includes a fire alarm pullstation.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the change in the state ofthe emergency equipment comprises an activation of the fire alarm pullstation.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the access area includes aportable defibrillator.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising anetwork linking the communication circuitry and the remote centralstation.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the network includes awireless mesh network.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the imagesensor includes a CMOS sensor.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1 furthercomprising a second image sensor positioned to face a display of an itemof emergency equipment in the access area and configured to capture asecond image of the display of the item of emergency equipment, whereinthe communications circuitry is further configured to transmit to aremote central station a third signal including information about thedisplay.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the image recognitionmodule is configured to recognize one of a plurality of predeterminedstates of the item of emergency equipment from the second image.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 13 wherein the image recognition module is configuredto recognized one of the plurality of predetermined states prior totransmission of the third signal to the remote central station.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 12 wherein the item of emergency equipment includes apressurized tank, and the display includes a pressure gauge onpressurized tank.
 16. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the second imagesensor is configured to periodically capture an image of the display.17. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a second image sensorpositioned to face an installed location of an item of emergencyequipment and configured to capture a second image of the installedlocation, wherein the communications circuitry is further configured totransmit to the remote central station a third signal includinginformation about the second image.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe communication circuitry is configured to transmit a wireless signalto the remote central station.
 19. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thenetwork includes a wireless mesh network.
 20. The apparatus of claim 16wherein the network includes an IEEE 802.15.4-compliant network.